Who struck Billie Patterson

[Baker, John]

        "Who struck Billy Patterson?" seems to be the more common form (though, frankly, both were equally unfamiliar to me).  Here's a use from 1858:  "The question is much easier determined, than that long mooted and still unsettled question, viz: 'who struck Billy Patterson?'"  Funk v. Israel, 5 Clarke (5 Iowa) 438 (Jan. 12, 1858).

        There apparently was a 19th century song named "Billy Patterson," and this doubtless was the source of the phrase's popularity.

        I notice that "Who struck Billy Patterson" is referred to in A Tramp Abroad, in Appendix A:  The Portier.  An annotated edition might provide more information.

John Baker